Teaching myself how to "really" play, one album at a time

[policyvote]

Hey, all. Bit of a novel here, tales of redemption and destiny and all that. Read on if you want, click "back" if you don't, but I'm eager to get your input . . .

I started playing bass the summer between my junior and senior year of high school. Me and my friends started a talented-but-silly band where we covered everyone from Green Day to Frank Zappa, mostly for parties, open houses, and talent shows. I had a lot of fun, but we weren't disciplined in practice or rehearsal. After that band broke up, I just sort of gradually stopped playing bass--only picking it up every six months for a week or two and then dropping it when I realized how much I'd lost (and I was never very good to begin with!).

Now, though, after getting married and having kids, I found myself wanting to play again. I started filling in at my wife's church in the praise band, and before I knew it, I was hired as the bandleader! Now I sing lead and play bass every Sunday, as well as selecting/arranging all the music and running rehearsals. I'm taking vocal lessons to get my singing in shape, but what's kind of sad at the moment is my bass playing. I cling desperately to the roots, and while I work hard to hold it down, that's all I do--hold it down. Singing lead while I play is challenging, but I know I can do a better job than I am. I've been going back and listening to a lot of the classic greats, and it's been inspiring.

I have decent technique and I have lots of instructional books and I took lessons for a while, and so I can 'speak the language' and get by . . . but I can't really PLAY. I can write simple basslines that rely on the root, and I can use my ears and basic theory knowledge to make sure what little I play sounds good, but I don't have the knowledge, experience, or technique to craft truly valuable and original lines that make the song better, rather than just holding it down.

To that end, I've decided to start a musical journey, kind of a pilgrimage. I want to learn, transcribe and record several entire albums by some of my favorite bassists and some of my favorite bands. Meanwhile, I want to blog my progress and get feedback/inspiration from my friends here at TB. Step one, I think, is amassing a list of albums to learn. I have the following so far (culled from suggestions - trying to limit to one per artist, and stick to the albums I already own when possible!):

1. The Who - The Ultimate Collection
2. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
3. RCHP - Blood Sugar Sex Magic
4. Tool - Ænima
5. Rush - Moving Pictures
6. Green Day - Dookie
7. Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues
8. Police- Zenyatta Mondatta
9. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Any other suggestions? Obviously, I'm pretty much talking about rock here. Any advice, though, would be appreciated . . .

Peace
policy

[thewanderer24]

Songs in the Key of Life -- Stevie Wonder/Nathan Watts
Your favorite Motown Anthology -- Four Tops/Supremes/Martha and the Vandellas/Gladys Knight/etc. with James Jamerson

These two will teach you how to groove like nothing else can.

Edit:
If you want RHCP's I would suggest Blood Sugar Sex Magic over Californication.

[MonetBass]

+1 on Blood Sugar Sex Magic

Also anything by the Police or Sting.

[policyvote]

Okay, cool! I was actually thinking about learning a Police album, both playing AND singing, since I do that anyway--and I don't think there's a better example of great simultaneous bass playing and singing than our man Sting.

My only concern with BSSM over Californication is, isn't there a lot more slap on BSSM? Or am I just remembering wrong. I can't slap for beans, though to attempt to tackle ANY RHCP album shows I have a desire to learn . . .

Peace
policy

[markjazzbassist]

check out david crowder, chris tomlin, steven curtis chapman, Israel & New Breed for good Praise and Worship albums.

[thewanderer24]

Originally Posted by policyvote

My only concern with BSSM over Californication is, isn't there a lot more slap on BSSM? Or am I just remembering wrong. I can't slap for beans, though to attempt to tackle ANY RHCP album shows I have a desire to learn . . .

Peace
policy

BSSM has some slapping on it, but it's mostly fingerstyle. There are a lot of GREAT songs worth spending the time to learn on that album.

[905]

I strongly suggest the following:

Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
Tool - Ænima
Tool - Lateralus
The Who - Tommy

( I would like to think that the difficulty is going upwards down the list )

[MichaelScott]

You mentioned taking voice lessons... are you taking bass lessons? Maybe I missed it in the post.

[Troutdog]

What a great idea! May have to try this myself sometime. Your selections are good. I would add:

Rush - Moving Pictures
Green Day - Dookie
Blues Brothers - Briefcase Full of Blues
Sublime
Police- Zenyatta Mondatta
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

[policyvote]

Originally Posted by MichaelScott

You mentioned taking voice lessons... are you taking bass lessons? Maybe I missed it in the post.

No, I'm not taking bass lessons at the moment. Unfortunately, between my job, my praise leader gig, my voice lessons, my wife's side job, my kids in general, and my wife starting guitar lessons, I'm afraid we're a little bit overcommitted!

I took bass lessons briefly for a while, and it was very helpful. However, it's vital that a A) not spend more money, and B) be able to pace myself on this journey--there are some weeks where I just don't get much time to practice! I've found that when you take lessons, unless you take the time to really drill and build upon each lesson each week, you're wasting both your and the instructor's time. So, I want to hold off on that for now (though it's a possibility for the future, to be sure.

Peace
policy

[policyvote]

Originally Posted by Troutdog

What a great idea! May have to try this myself sometime.

Thanks! I think I'll learn a lot of great licks, tricks, and approaches to basscraft. I'll also be able to comp multiple styles and feels better.

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Heh, "Money" was the first bass line I ever learned! Good suggestions, thanks!

Peace
policy

[Rabbuk]

hey i learned how to play money today as my first bass line too! Anyway ya... i have almost no skill seeing as ive been playing for 4 days. Money is pretty easy and catchy and also the white stripes- seven nation army.

[Ed Fuqua]

Well do what you want, but all you're going to get out of other people's CDs is what they played. You don't get any closer to pulling the music inside YOU out. It's not about licks and tricks, it's about having a firm foundation in the fundamentals of music.

And that comes easiest sitting in the same room with a living breathing human being who has a deeper understanding of this stuff than you do. You say you don't have the time or the money, but you're investing in your future. And how much time are you going to waste on dead ends (that you don't see coming), waste on re inventing the wheel at every turn, waste by not getting to concepts you have no idea exist at this point.

I've been playing well over 30 years at this point, sometimes making all my digit as a musician (though not currently). I've been living in NYC for the last 20 years and have been studying with my current teacher for the last ten. The last ten years have been the most productive for me as a musician, because I've had someone to help me along the way. The thing that alwasy gives me pause is considering where I would be right now if I had started studying with Joe as SOON as I moved to NYC instead of 10 years after I got here.

[bassist15]

I first started playing bass a few years ago but never really sat around learning my favorite songs. I quickly got in a band where we would occasionly get together and paly a few cover tunes but nothing else. Over time I learned a dew licks from famous songs but nothing more. I can in another band last year and we played all originals . After months and months of making up my own basslines I found myself getting stuck in a rut easily. Well I went to a jam/lesson with a family friend who plays bass. We went to his music room where his amp and basses are and he talked about jamming along to my favorite albums. Not only is a a challenge to your ears its also alot of fun. I feel like it gives you more insight to note selection. There are some albums that are great teachers in harmony and counter melody. So its not a waste of time . It has been somethign that I think has made me a better bassist. I have my own licks and grooves but Its nice to be able to look at what someone else has done.

[Phantopeth]

I'm going to suggest an early Phish album, perhaps Junta, Lawn Boy, or A Picture of Nectar. Learning and transcribing the instrumental sections would prove to be a good exercise

also, +1 to Blood Sugar and Zeppelin II

[JHow]

Policy, we're in the same boat. I've been playing for ten months or so, but I've only been truly dedicated for probably 4 months. I know exactly how you feel about clinging to the roots. I'm in a rock band even though sometimes all you need is the root driving the song, I feel very limited.

[Sean Ormiston]

It's interesting, the kind of mileage you can get from playing along to your favorite records. I'll warn you that I've only been playing for three years and I'm not making my dough off music, but all in all I'm pretty "together" about how I approach it. Y'know, I'm not bad.

So don't take me for an authority but....*consider this*. I play along to albums - and try to learn the songs by ear - when I hear something that I want to "digest." For example, I'm not such a hot pick player...but damn...Andy Rourke of the Smiths sure as hell is. So I learn a bunch of Smiths songs and bamn. The advantage is that if you know the bassline and you love it, then you don't need to think about it....that chap did it all for you. Figure out where your fingers go and then it's a matter of developing the new chops. So I consider different albums as different lessons in techniques or concepts:

Melodicism: Paul McCartney, Andy Rourke
"Feeling the pocket": The Meters, Sting
Pick Playing: Andy Rourke, Mission of Burma
Feeling 16th notes: Fela Kuti, Jaco Pastorius

Y'know, organize them by extremes (you don't have to agree with my choices of course.)

It's also really cool to identify things in the music you love like...woah, that thing that sounds so cool is just a major pentatonic scale! By learning theory, and then jamming to records, you can see how theory "materializes" into music. Eventually you won't need to put it on the fretboard, and can identify it by ear.

-Still thinking of a signature
Sean

[Fishbrain]

the one i'm doing at the moment, dont know if its your thing but
Mudvayne - LD50

or incubus - s.c.i.e.n.c.e. has some good basslines

[food]

One thing that dissappointed me when i started picking out Blood Sugar Sex Magik was that he seems to use a five string on several of the tracks. Some of the songs that I was dying to learn I will have to put off for the indefinite amount of time it will take to acquire a five-string.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by food

One thing that dissappointed me when i started picking out Blood Sugar Sex Magik was that he seems to use a five string on several of the tracks. Some of the songs that I was dying to learn I will have to put off for the indefinite amount of time it will take to acquire a five-string.

Then learn to play them on a four! This will help you when you need to do some serious transposing. For example, going from C to G is, IMHO, way harder than going from C to D since you lose one of the low strings. It also teaches you when to go up the octave, and when not to.

I just learned a new song for the band I am in. But I learned it on the five and make a lot of use of the B string, now I have to get it working on the four.